Paris Buchanan was named the Senior Associate Athletics Director for Fan Experience and Creative Strategy in March 2023.
Buchanan’s primary oversight within Auburn Athletics include three units – Fan Experience, War Eagle Productions and War Eagle Creative. In this role, he leads efforts to continually innovate to maintain Auburn as an industry leader in creative production and fan experience.
Buchanan serves on the executive leadership team and has helped steer and foster innovation into Auburn’s in-venue, social, and live broadcast operations. Under his leadership on The Plains in 2024, the War Eagle Creative and War Eagle Productions units captured the Golden Matrix Award, given annually by the Information Display and Entertainment Association for best overall university production. Additionally in 2024, the Auburn Fan Experience unit was named finalist for Marketing Team of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NAMCA).
Prior to Auburn, Buchanan served as the Chief Marketing Officer for Ole Miss Athletics and was a member of the senior leadership team. In this role, he oversaw the in-venue fan experience for all home athletics events, while coordinating all aspects of the department’s digital marketing and advertising strategy. His department was recognized by the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA) as a finalist for Marketing Team of the Year back-to-back years in 2021 and 2022, marking the first time the department had received this honor. Buchanan served in multiple roles during a twelve-year stint at Ole Miss before being elevated to the senior leadership team in 2020.
He currently serves as the Southeastern Conference representative for the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators, while also serving as an adjunct professor of sport promotions for the University of Mississippi. In February 2024, Buchanan was selected to the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Senior Mentor Institute. In 2023, Buchanan was named top 40 under 40 by The University of Mississippi Alumni Association.
A native of Grenada, Mississippi, Buchanan received a bachelor’s degree in managerial finance and obtained a master’s degree in integrated marketing communications from Ole Miss.